National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Notre Dame 81, Massachusetts 68
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 22, 2014
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Officials: # Gary Prager, # Larry Scirotto, # Ron Tyburski
Attendance: N/A

Notre Dame 81, Massachusetts 68: Jerian Grant registered 24 points and eight assists as the Fighting Irish overcame an early deficit to win at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at Uncasville, Conn.

Grant made 10-of-13 from the field and committed just one turnover for Notre Dame (3-1), which will play Providence on Sunday in Uncasville. Demetrius Jackson posted 16 points and five steals, Pat Connaughton supplied 18 points and five rebounds and Zach Auguste chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Irish.

Cady Lalanne notched 16 points and six rebounds and Derrick Gordon posted 18 points for UMass (3-1), which will meet Florida State on Sunday. Maxie Esho supplied nine points and nine rebounds and Donte Clark and Trey Davis had 10 and nine points, respectively.

UMass used its smothering defense to carve out a 19-9 advantage midway through the first half as Lalanne, Seth Berger and Clark all hit 3-pointers. A layup by Esho made it 23-13 in favor of the Minutemen with 8:35 remaining before the first points for leading-scorer Auguste started a 16-3 run for the Fighting Irish, who went from down nine to up three before heading to halftime with a 31-28 advantage.

Notre Dame wasted no time taking advantage of poor transition defense by the Minutemen by scoring nine straight points to secure a 40-30 lead with nearly four minutes gone in the second half. The lead ballooned to 17 on a jumper by Jackson before UMass found its shooting touch after a 1-of-9 start to the half, but by then it could get no closer than seven points.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Fighting Irish missed their only free throw attempt in the first half, while the Minutemen made 5-of-9 from the strip. ... After opening the game 8-of-13 from the field, UMass made 13-of-36 the rest of the way. ... Notre Dame shot 58.5 percent from the field, including 9-of-19 from 3-point range.
Top Game Performances
 
Notre Dame   Massachusetts
Jerian Grant 24 Scoring Derrick Gordon 18
Jerian Grant 8 Assists Trey Davis 5
Zach Auguste 10 Rebounds Maxie Esho 8
Demetrius Jackson 4 Free Throws Made Derrick Gordon 9
Demetrius Jackson 5 Steals Derrick Gordon 2
Zach Auguste 2 Blocks Maxie Esho 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Notre Dame 81 58.5 9-19 10-17 12 30 2 13 17
Massachusetts 68 42.9 6-17 20-29 11 23 2 6 18